The following description of the background of the invention is provided simply as an aid in understanding the invention and is not admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the invention.
The present invention relates to a novel cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene mutation and its use in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common severe autosomal recessive genetic disorder in the Caucasian population. It affects approximately 1 in 2,500 live births in North America (Boat et al, The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, 6th ed, pp 2649-2680, McGraw Hill, NY (1989)). Approximately 1 in 25 persons are carriers of the disease. The responsible gene has been localized to a 250,000 base pair genomic sequence present on the long arm of chromosome 7. This sequence encodes a membrane-associated protein called the “cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator” (or “CFTR”). There are greater than 1,000 different mutations in the CFTR gene, having varying frequencies of occurrence in the population, presently reported to the Cystic Fibrosis Genetic Analysis Consortium. These mutations exist in both the coding regions (e.g., ΔF508, a mutation found on about 70% of CF alleles, represents a deletion of a phenylalanine at residue 508) and the non-coding regions (e.g., the 5T, 7T, and 9T mutations correspond to a sequence of 5, 7, or 9 thymidine bases located at the splice branch/acceptor site of intron 8) of the CFTR gene. Comparison of the CFTR genomic and cDNA sequences confirms the presence of 27 exons. The exons are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6a, 6b, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14a, 14b, 15, 16, 17a, 17b, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. Each intron is flanked by the consensus GT-AG splice-site sequence as previously reported (Zielenski, et al., (1991) Genomics 10, 214-228).
The major symptoms of cystic fibrosis include chronic pulmonary disease, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, and elevated sweat electrolyte levels. The symptoms are consistent with cystic fibrosis being an exocrine disorder. Although recent advances have been made in the analysis of ion transport across the apical membrane of the epithelium of CF patient cells, it is not clear that the abnormal regulation of chloride channels represents the primary defect in the disease.
Methods for detecting CFTR gene mutations have been described. See e.g., Audrezet et al., “Genomic rearrangements in the CFTR gene: extensive allelic heterogeneity and diverse mutational mechanisms” Hum Mutat. 2004 April; 23(4):343-57; PCT WO 1004/040013 A1 and corresponding US application #20040110138; titled “Method for the detection of multiple genetic targets” by Spiegelman and Lern; US patent application No. 20030235834; titled “Approaches to identify cystic fibrosis” by Dunlop et al.; and US patent application No. 20040126760 titled “Novel compositions and methods for carrying out multiple PCR reactions on a single sample” by N. Broude.
A variety of CFTR gene mutations are known, and the identification of additional mutations will further assist in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.